Message of love: 8th International Urdu Conference ends on a high note

Speakers appreciate efforts for successfully holding this event over the years

KARACHI: The 8th International Urdu Conference celebrated the Urdu language by hosting a number of thought-provoking and insightful sessions on classical and contemporary Urdu literature, Urdu drama and movies and many more. The four-day event concluded on Friday evening.

This conference was meant to celebrate not just Urdu but all the languages of Pakistan, said poet and critic Sahar Ansari at the concluding ceremony of the event. All the languages carry the message of love, he claimed.

Ansari recalled his visit to North America this year to attend the Aligarh alumni reunion, in which everyone was appreciating the efforts of Karachi Arts Council for organising these international conferences but regretted that they never attended them, he added.



"In India, Urdu is one of the 24 languages that are mentioned in the constitution", said writer Shamim Hanafi who came to attend the conference from Lucknow, India.  In fact, Urdu is also being promoted by those whose mother tongue is not even Urdu, he added. "We need to make this world a better place for our future generations."

Such events show that the Urdu language is progressing, said Aligarh Muslim University, India, Urdu department head Prof Abdul Kalam Qasmi. "The memories of this event will remain fresh throughout the year." Qasmi attended the conference for the first time.

"I'm blessed to have attended all the Urdu conferences being held by the Karachi Arts Council," said Urdu poet and drama writer Amjad Islam Amjad.  He ended his talk by reading out a verse, "Mohabat aik aisa darya hai kay barish rooth bhi jaye tou pani kam nai hota [Love is that flowing stream of water that even if rain stops, its absence is never felt]"

Jaun Elia once said "har acha shair Mir Taqi Mir ka hota hai, chahay kisi ne kaha ho [Every nice couplet is of Mir Taqi Mir no matter who says it]", said former British Broadcasting Corporation broadcaster Raza Ali Abidi.

“Once there was an Ahmed Shah Abdali who destroyed the city of Mir Taqi Mir, and now we have Muhammad Ahmed Shah who has done wonders for his language,” he claimed. He further asked Karachi Arts Council to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mir.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2015.